Nations improve nuclear security

A report issued Wednesday on the security of deadly nuclear materials found steady improvement, with seven countries in the last two years giving up most of their uranium and plutonium that can be readily turned into weapons. Their actions lowered the number of nations with appreciable fuel for atomic bombs to 25 from 32.

The 148-page report card came from the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a private advocacy group in Washington that promotes safekeeping of nuclear materials and urges governments to strengthen their defenses against atomic terrorism. The report was released as world leaders prepared for their third nuclear security summit, to be held in March in The Hague. President Obama began the summit process as a way to pressure nations into improving their nuclear security.

The first edition of the report, the Nuclear Materials Security Index, came out two years ago, just before the 2012 summit. It surveyed the precautions each country had in place and ranked them based on their safety practices.

The updated rankings, posted online Wednesday, contained a number of surprises and potential embarrassments. Australia remained in first place and even raised its score two points on a scale of 100, to 92 from 90. The nations that made the biggest gains were Belgium (up seven points), Canada (up six points) and Japan (up six points).

The United States lost one point and is now tied with Britain for 11th place. North Korea remained in last place, its score an abysmal 30.